Tucson, Ariz. – Robin Chou was on his way to winning his first match of the dual season, but it wasn’t enough as USC validated their No. 2 ranking on Friday, defeating Arizona 5-0. The loss drops Arizona to 11-13 on the year.

“USC is a good team and has a shot to win the national championship,” head coach Tad Berkowitz said.

Chou won his first set, but was unable to finish the match before the Trojans clinched the team victory.

The Wildcats dropped the early doubles point, as Matt Dunn and Will Kneale fell to Roberto Quiroz and Nick Crystal 8-2 while Dominic Bermudez and Trevor James fell to Michael Grant and Jonny Wang by the same score.

“I was a little disappointed with the doubles,” said Berkowitz. “We came out tentative and didn’t go after them. Singles was a little better. Our guys fought as hard as they could, but USC got us today.”

Arizona’s deficit grew in singles, as Kneale lost to Eric Johnson 6-2, 6-1 and Carlos Bermudez lost to Nick Crystal 6-3, 6-4.

The Trojans came away with the team victory as James fell to Grant 6-1, 6-1.

Arizona has another tough opponent on Sunday, Apr. 13 as they host No. 3 UCLA at 12 p.m.

For continued coverage of Arizona men’s tennis, visit ArizonaWildcats.com, follow @ArizonaMTennis on Twitter and Instagram, and on Facebook at facebook.com/ArizonaMensTennis.